Bottle-cap remover.



A. W. STEPHENS.

BOTTLE GAP REMOVER.

uruoumn FILED JUNE 30, 1911.

Patented 001.31, 1911.

In venfbor:

J4. w. Jtqaem f 2 Mai COLEJMBIA PLANOGRAPH c AUGUSTUS W. STEPHENS, OF WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOTTLE-CAP REMOVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1911.

Application filed June 30, 1911. Serial No. 636,264.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUSTUS IV. STE- IHENS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of IValtham, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Cap Removers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a device for removing crown bottle caps, the device comprising a lever having at one end a cap-engaging portion and at the other end a handle or grip portion, said cap-engaging portion including a fulcrum member adapted to bear on the top of the cap to be removed, and a lifting member adjacent to the fulcrum member and adapted to engage one edge of the cap flange and lift the same in a manner well known, an opening being provided between the said fulcrum and lifting members adapted to receive a part of the cap to be removed. It is the custom of dealers in bottled goods to supply these openers free of charge to their customers, the

' openers being usually provided with advertising matter, usually impressed upon the handle or grip portion of the lever.

My invention has for its object to enable the end of the lever which has the fulcrum and lifting members to be used for advertising purposes, and it consists in a cap remover having means adjacent to the fulcrum and lifting members for engaging an advertising cap, which may be a duplicate of the caps with which the bottles are provided, the crown of the cap furnishing ample space for advertising matter in an at tractive form.

Of the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification,Figure 1 represents an edge view of a bottle cap remover adapted in accordance with my invention to engage and hold an advertising cap; Fig. 2 represents a plan view of the remover represented by Fig. 1; Fig. 3 represents a section on line 33 of Fig. 2 showing an advertising cap applied to the remover.

Similar reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in all the figures.

In the drawings,-12 represents a cap remover, which is a lever comprising an elongated handle or grip portion at one end of which is a cap-engaging portion adapted to bear simultaneously on the margin of the top of a cap 14 engaged with a bottle 15, and on the edge of the cap flange, the remover being provided with an opening 16 adapted to receive a portion of the cap 14, and with a thin edged lifting member 17 at one side of the opening, said lifting member being adapted to engage the edge of the flange of the cap 14 in the operation of re moving the cap. Cap removers of the general construct-ion above described are well known and are made in various forms. I

In carrying out my invention, I provide a cap remover of the character above described, with means for engaging and securing to the cap-engaging end of the remover an advertisingcap 14 which is preferably a duplicate of the cap 14 and has a flange 14 adapted to be crimped upon the remover and held securely in place over the opening 16.

In the embodiment of my invention here shown I have adapted the remover to hold the advertising cap by providing it with an annular beaded seat 19 which surrounds the opening 16 and is offset and projects laterally from one side of the remover. Said seat has the same external form as the beaded mouth of a bottle neck, so that the cap flange 14 is adapted to be engaged with the seat 19 by the operation of contracting said flange upon the seat, or crimping it inwardly in the same way that the flange is engaged with the head of a bottle neck, the seat 19 being the equivalent of the bead on the bottle neck as a means for engaging and supporting the advertising cap. The seat 19 is sufficiently offset fro-m the cap-engaging portion to enable the cap flange to entirely surround the seat, and to enable the remover to perform its function without interference by the advertising cap 14 as indicated by Fig. 3, from which it will be seen that when the remover is applied to a bottle cap for the purpose of removing the same, the advertising cap 14 does not touch the bottle cap 14.

The cap-engaging portion of the remover is preferably of considerably greater width than the handle or grip portion. The capengaging portion, however, by reason of the fact that it is a frame surrounding an opening 16, has not been available heretofore for advertising matter, the same having always been applied to the handle portion. It will be seen that by providing the relatively wide capengaging portion of the remover with means for engaging an advertising cap, I am enabled to utilize the entire area of the cap-engaging portion for advertising purposes without detracting from the usefulness of the device and without materially increasing its cost. The location of the cap seat- 19 at the cap-engaging end of the remover leaves the handle or grip portion entirely unobstructed, said grip portion proj ecting from the cap seat as shown.

It is entirely feasible to employ an advertising cap 14L which does not have the usual cork washer on the inner side of its top. It is also feasible to employ imperfect caps which for various reasons are not suitable for bottle-sealing purposes.

I do not limit myself to the means here shown for engaging an advertising cap with a cap remover, but may employ any other suitable means adapted to hold an advertising cap on the cap-engaging end of a cap remover of the character here shown, and in position to cover the opening 16 therein, without interfering with the usual function of the remover.

I claim 1. As an article of manufacture, a bottlecap-remover comprising a cap removing portion and a grip portion, and having a beaded cap seat projecting laterally from one side of the cap-removing portion and adapted to be entirely surrounded by the flange of a duplicate bottle cap, the grip portion of the remover projecting from said seat.

2. As an article of manufacture, a bottlecap-remover comprising a cap-removing portion and a grip portion and having a beaded cap seat which projects laterally from one side of the cap-removing portion, and a duplicate cap having a flange which entirely surrounds and is compressed on said seat and held thereby at one end of the grip portion, the latter projecting from said seat and duplicate cap.

In testimony whereof I have afliXed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUSTUS lV. STEPHENS.

WVitnesses:

C. F. BROWN, P. W. PEZZETTI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

